


A Seal of Wood

by TheSentientPotato



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: FD is his patron god, First has been gifted the powers of the Fierce deity, From the FD himself, Gen, The goddess Taruho is the horned statue in Hateno village, i just want First content, is that too much to ask
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26459545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSentientPotato/pseuds/TheSentientPotato
Summary: I just need more First content in my lifeThe Goddess Taruho is the Horned Statue in Hateno Village
Relationships: None
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	A Seal of Wood

The wooden door to his cell slammed open and First slid the rock he had been using to try and break his ankle cuff open under the thin blanket he was provided.

“Seems you’ve been allowed a stroll today, traitor.” The guard said as he walked into the room and yanked First to his feet. 

First shoved him off and backed up into a more faithful fighting stance, bringing his fists up prepared for a fight. He was never much of a hands on brawler but after doing wrestling matches with the boys and the old man, he found he preferred to fight this way.

The magic that had been woven into his ankle cuff however had other plans and he was rewarded with a quick shock that went up his leg, causing him to collapse to his knees. 

He found himself unable to move as the second part of the magical punishment leaked into him. It felt like ice and a redead scream as it quickly spread throughout his body. 

The guard scoffed at him and approached again, this time pulling his unresponsive arms behind him and slapping cuffs over his wrists. 

First growled in response seeing as he couldn’t make any noise other than that, but the guard didn’t even react to it. 

A second pair of cuffs was over his ankles, each one connected by a spanning chain. It was just enough for him to shuffle but not enough to make a run for it. Not that he could, these cuffs had the same magic in them as the one that kept him in this cell. 

If he took one step out of line it would be a hearty shock and then he would be frozen and carted back to his cell to wait out the effects. 

“You know the drill.” The guard said, “you do something and these will activate, now let’s get moving. I want my lunch break.” He shoved First face first into the floor to break him out of the freezing spell. 

He felt something bruise in his nose and blood begin to seep out of it as it made contact with the stone. 

He choked as a gag was shoved into his mouth and tied behind his head.

“I don’t need any of your comments today.” 

“Mmffm… fuf ew.” 

“Yeah yeah, just shut up and get moving.”

He clipped a chain to the cuffs on First’s wrists and yanked for him to stand. He stumbled to his feet and grumbled through the gag at the guard. 

With the clinking of the chains, the sound of the guards boots and the swipe of his own bare feet on the stone he fell into his own thoughts. 

They hadn’t given him much in the way of clothing, just a threadbare pair of pants and a thin shirt. But he didn’t mind much. It was the beginning of summer, he still had plenty of time before the frost krept into his cell. 

His cell. 

First scoffed to himself through the gag. He’d already resigned himself to being stuck here forever. 

It almost seemed pathetic. 

Legend would never have allowed himself to get captured. He didn’t in fact, he was a known criminal in his own time. 

But First couldn’t even bring himself to raise his sword against people who were just doing a job.

If the guards hadn’t followed through with their orders them and their families would be labeled as traitors to the crown. 

First would rather be trapped in here than have children be stuck here for the reminder of their lives.

“Look alive, Link.” The guard startled him out of his thoughts. 

“Mmphm.” 

They were in a part of the prison First hadn’t seen before. Not that that was an incredible feat, he’d only been there a couple weeks and most of that time he’d been locked in his cell. 

His eyes narrowed as he continued to scan the area. Shadows and cobwebs clung to dimly lit corners and even the candles seemed like they had only been lit for his arrival. 

The floors had dirt caked into the mortar between the stones and suspicious stains splattered the doors and walls. 

“Mmph…….” 

First began to take stock of the area as the guard pushed through the door at the end of the hall to a high ceiling chamber. There were two guards at the door that took the chains from his escort and pulled him further into the room.

Two guards were also at the back of the room and a couple of higher class guards flanked what looked like a noble and.... a goddess?? 

A woman stood head and shoulders over the noble. Her long black hair ended at her mid back and a dark blue veil was slipped over her head. 

The door shut behind him and the pair turned to him. 

His eyes widened as he saw who the noble was. The man that had framed him and sent him to waste away here. Lord Dagianis. 

“MMPH!” 

First moved to run at him but was immediately stopped by the shock that went through all four of his limbs. He convulsed before the freezing spell kicked in. 

“Ah yes, hello Link.” Dagianis said as he approached, the woman following closely behind.

“Allow me to introduce you to the Goddess Taruho. She will be helping me with, how would you say it?” He said, turning to Taruho. “Removing your fangs? Siphoning your energy?”

First’s brow furrowed.

“Try…. making sure you won’t hurt anyone while you’re here? Declawing perhaps.” Taruho stated. 

“Regardless of the metaphors, you do have something we need.” A grin spread across his face. “The Fierce Deity's power.” 

First’s eyes widened yet again and he shook as he fought against the magical restraints. First had only told one person exactly how receiving the power had happened and how it worked. As far as he knew Orville was far off into the mountains, running from the law just as he had been. 

But the way Dagianis’s eyes sparkled and the wide smile on his face told First that he was confident in his plan to remove the sacred gift from him. 

“Taruho here, is going to help me with the process. You see, she is a goddess of energy and life. She can take and give as much as she wants and even transfer it to other people. And apparently,” Dagianis reached his hand into his robe pocket and searched around for a moment before grabbing hold of something. “She can also transfer the energies to be stored in objects.” 

The object he removed was a wooden mask carved in a likeness of First himself. No paint was on the surface but it was still unmistakable. 

His breathing picked up and he began trying to struggle again only for a warning shock and another round of the freezing spell to be administered to him. 

He had seen that mask before. Time had pulled it out and shown him on their adventure when he asked why the old man was so skittish around him. He had simply handed it to him and they sat in silence. 

First had felt the familiar power coming off the item and it had left him terrified of the possibilities.

“What’s the matter, oh mighty warrior?” The noble teased. “Are you scared of a little lump of wood?”

He brought the item closer to First’s face to compare the two side by side. “A near perfect copy if I do say so myself. You know, I got the best wood carver to make this for me. It really was worth the price to keep him quiet about it.”

“mmphMMMph!” 

“Stop toying with him.” The goddess said, locking First in her gaze. “Let’s get this over with. I’ve heard this man attempted to kill one of my brothers. I want to make him pay for even thinking of doing such a thing.” 

“Alright, alright. Here,” Dagianis passed the mask to Taruho. “Make sure you don’t damage the mask at all. I want it to be pristine for the presentation to the council.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of it.” She took the mask without breaking eye contact and ran her fingernails along one of the ears. 

“Bring him to the center of the room and have him bound to the floor.” Dagianis barked to the guards. “These chains are enchanted so they shouldn’t break no matter how hard he struggles.” 

He was kicked in the back of his thigh and collapsed to the floor, his left leg now useless for the time being. He tried to struggle and get away but was again shocked and frozen. 

The guards dragged him to the center of the tall dome-like room and forced him to his knees, exchanging the chains. Red runes glowed across the shackles and twisted down the chains into the floor. 

In an attempt he pulled at them. He wasn’t greeted with the usual shock and freeze combo but instead just the cuffs digging into his wrists. 

He heard the sound of fabric rustling behind him before a hand was on his forehead and yanking it back. Another hand was on the back of his neck and he choked on the gag. 

“Now.” The goddess said, untying the gag and tossing it to the side. “Hold still.”

“NO.” First yelled and began struggling against the chains, throwing her hands off him with the strength of his twisting. 

“Tighten them.” A new voice sounded and he heard something being spun as the chains were pulled taunt. 

“Wretch! I said,” the goddess’s hand was again on his head and pulling back hard. “HOLD.” Her other hand slammed onto the back of his neck causing his head to tilt back a bit too far. “STILL!”

Taruho began chanting loudly in a language First understood only because of the magic that was dwelling within him. 

He yelled and screamed to try and distract the goddess, even as a pair of long, sharp horns began protruding from her forehead and a pair of thin feathery wings sprouted from her back. The mask raised itself from the ground and hovered directly over his head.

And then something twisted. 

And something RIPPED.

He gasped as he felt the Deity’s magic activate against his will and his irises disappeared, leaving only the glowing whites. 

He felt another strong rip and suddenly he was in pain. 

He was burned and cut and stabbed all at once.

Something sharp was sliding under his skin, reaching to his soul and taking the protective layer surrounding it. 

He screamed as he felt something dig a bit deeper and pull out what could only be described as a root.

He felt phantom hands grab at grooves and edges the knives had created and pull at them, peeling it away like wallpaper. 

He felt the power begin to fight back. Rerooting itself into new and tender parts of his soul, hanging on for dear life. 

It didn’t want to leave and by Hylia’s holy name he wouldn’t let it without putting up a fight.

He pulled at his restraints, using the power he had to up his strength to something far above any of the power gauntlets his companion’s had boasted about.

He yelled in pain and determination as he tugged. The cuffs cut into his ankles and wrists leaving deep gashes and bruises in their wake. 

But he didn’t care. 

The goddess’s fingernails dig into his head and neck as he struggled, she continued her chanting only getting louder to match his screaming. 

A wind had struck up at some point and the howling of it shook the room. Knights and guards alike were cowering in the corners hoping beyond hope that this would be over soon. 

Another harsh rip and First felt a burst of pain over his chest. 

A white sheet of magic floated from him, small tendrils trying desperately to latch themselves back to him.

He screamed in rage as he saw it twist and get sucked up into the mask. 

“YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!” He shifted his body and felt one of his ankle chains begin to creak and stretch. 

The pieces of his magic started releasing more frequently after the first and it soon became a constant stream of glowing white moving through the air only to be snatched up by the mask. 

The cuff on his ankle groaned again and with a burst of energy the chain snapped. 

His right foot slammed onto the floor as he began trying to use the leverage to free his other limbs. 

“The restraints! Reinforce the restraints!” The head guard yelled. 

The goddess’s head whipped up to face the room, her dark hair billowing out in all directions. “NO! DO NOT TOUCH HIM UNLESS YOU WISH TO BE SAPPED OF YOUR OWN LIFE FORCE.” 

First let out another bellowing scream that shook the chamber and began pulling at his chains again. If he could break one it was only a matter of time before he got the others.

He felt his power being pulled from him again with renewed vigor as Taruho realized this would need to be done quickly if she were to receive her precious payment without injury to herself. 

A section of the power was peeled off in one long rip and he screamed again and recoiled as the rawness of his soul being wounded bloomed across his back. 

It flapped and swirled into the hovering mask in a glowing white sheet and disappeared. 

The chains creaked and groaned as they were pulled to their limit but his strength was waning by the second. He wasn’t getting out of this. He couldn’t get out of this. 

He let the chains slack as his energy left, slowly sinking himself fully to the floor. A single tear slipped down his cheek.

He grimaced as the markings on his face burned and the glowing white of his eyes dimmed as the final scraps of divine power were ripped from him. He watched the red and blue peel off his face and float up to the mask where it was burned into the wood.

“And for extra measure,” he heard Taruoh whisper “I’ll take a small portion of your own soul to give it a small amount of coherence. So it can know what is happening around it and that it is nothing but a tool.” She spat the word ‘tool’ almost directly into his ear but he didn’t have the energy to turn and acknowledge her. 

He felt a new tug at his sternum and made a loud gasp as two small balls of flame were pulled from his chest. He curled inward, coughing, and tried to bring his hands to his chest but they were held back as the chains snapped taunt. 

He groaned and the mask above him thrummed in kind. The glowing from it intensified as the fires were fused into the wood grain and he had to screw his eyes shut to keep from going blind. 

All at once the noise in the room ceased and the light behind his eyelids was snuffed out. His eyes snapped open as a loud clattering happened only inches from his face. The mask sat on the ground in front of him, the teal of his soul fire still working its way into the wood, leaving shimmering trails along the wood grain. 

He was sore. 

Weakened.

He felt skinned alive. 

And he hated it. 

He moved his hand to regain his power. To reclaim what had been stolen from him. But another beat him to it.

“You see,” the goddess’s voice boomed above him as she held the mask aloft. “Even your strongest champion is no match for the power of a god. As for my payment.”

She spun on her heel to face Lord Dagianis. “I will be taking the mask. You humans cannot be trusted with such power anymore.”

“You can’t! That wasn’t the deal, we need his power!” Dagianis yelled. 

First felt Taruho step over him as she got right up in the noble’s face, bending over to reach his eye level. 

“You fool. We hadn't yet made a complete deal before you asked me to take this essence from him.” She grinned, the beginnings of a chuckle in her throat. “Think about what your greed and lust for power has cost you.” 

Dagianis yelled curses and death threats as she laughed and sunk into the shadows, taking the mask with her.

First shifted on the floor, rattling the chains and drawing the screaming man’s attention to him. He groaned again as a fresh wave of pain rolled through him and received a kick to the side for it. 

Blood bubbled up between his lips but he held it in, turning his face to meet the offenders boots before coughing it out. The scuffle and disgusted noise from Dagianis gave him the slightest bit of satisfaction. 

“I hope” he gasped out, putting all his energy into making sure his words were heard. “You rot. In Hell”  
Another coughing fit seized him and he aimed it as far out as he could. 

“Get him out of here!” The noble yelled, causing a headache to start forming as the noise seemed to echo off the back of his skull.

The noises of the chains being unlocked and clanging to the ground only caused it to grow and he groaned again as the guards lifted him to his feet and all but dragged him out of the chamber. 

Candlelight flickered behind his eyelids as they pulled him down the hall and he thought back to his parting words with his successor. 

“First… i just wanted to tell you…” Sky fidgeted nervously with the edge of his sailcloth. “Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. Don’t forget that okay?” 

First blinked. “I suppose I can keep that in mind. Why would you feel the need to tell me this though?” 

Sky seemed to stiffen a bit and looked up to meet his eyes. “I guess I just felt you might need it.”

After being tossed back into his cell First finally, finally let the tears fall. Silent as they were they came in droves causing him to take a few hiccuping breaths.

‘Hopefully’ he thought to himself, ‘this will be as bad as it gets.’

**Author's Note:**

> I just need more First content in my life
> 
> The Goddess Taruho is the Horned Statue in Hateno Village


End file.
